March 2022

Ryan Stock, assistant professor in the Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences Department at Northern Michigan University, is the 2021-22 recipient of the Faculty Emerging Leadership Award. He is a political ecologist whose work utilizes an intersectional perspective to examine the environmental injustices of climate change interventions and energy transitions.

Northern Michigan University alumna and Nursing Professor Melissa Romero is the 2021-22 recipient of NMU's Online Teaching Award. She is also the School of Nursing's graduate program coordinator and serves as a family nurse practitioner at NMU's Health Center as part of a joint appointment. 

Kathryn Johnson, a contingent senior instructor in Northern Michigan University's History Department, is a recipient of the 2021-22 NMU Excellence in Part-Time Teaching Award.

Grace Chaillier, a Northern Michigan University alumna and recently retired adjunct professor in the Center for Native American Studies, was selected as a recipient of NMU's 2021-2022 Excellence in Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award. 

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees and senior administrators participated in an All-Student Forum hosted by ASNMU student government on Tuesday, March 15. They fielded student-submitted questions via Zoom for nearly two hours.

The Scottish folk-rock group Skerryvore will perform a concert hosted by Northern Michigan University's Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center as part of the 2022 Winter Roots Festival. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 19, in Forest Roberts Theatre. 

The Northern Michigan University Foundation has issued an open Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for prospective master developers interested in revitalizing the former hospital property adjacent to the NMU campus. This action was taken following a period of due diligence to assess the feasibility of enabling a significant mixed-use development to proceed.

Northern Michigan University associate professor Jeffrey Horn has been awarded $92,500 from the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Innovation Hub for Advanced Computing for a next-generation computing project. Horn received the funding for a Deep-Scale Evolution (DSE) algorithm that he invented that has practical implications for minimizing material waste in industrial production. 

During Women's History Month, it is worth noting that NMU's History Department was led by two trailblazing women who served as department head. The first was Catherine Maxwell, who taught from 1904 until her death in 1918. Ruth Roebke-Berens was the second woman to fill the role, from 1981-88.

Kelly Reed, a 2007 Northern Michigan University business management graduate and former Wildcat quarterback, is the new CEO at VAST in Marquette. He has been with the insurance and risk management firm for 15 years, most recently as a risk adviser for health care providers throughout the United States.